On Location Tours: Gossip Girl Sites Tour

Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. And who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell. You know you love me. Xoxo, GossipGirl

Hello lovelies, many of you probably recognized this quote form the tv series ‚Gossip Girl‘. Especially for the big Gossip Girl fans this post is going to be interesting.

For those who don’t know GG: The series is about a group of friends that is living in the Upper East Side. It’s about intrigues and an ‚anonymous blogger‘ who is publishing the secrets of the friends to play them off against each other. Serena van der Woodsen and her friend Blair Waldorf are in the focus of attention. Another important topic of the show is their passion for fashion.

Since the show was filmed in New York City you can see many cool places, cute cafes and exclusive shops that really exist.

Every fan gets the chance to experience the city for a day through the eyes of ‚S‘ and ‚B‘.

I have been teaming up with OnLocationTours to test the Gossip Girl Location Tour for you.

During the tour you are sitting in a bus while the tour guide is giving you background information on the show and the filming locations. Since they basically know everything about the tv show they can answer all your questions and give you lots of background stories.

Before you arrive at each location you can see the corresponding scene on several screens.

The Gossip Girl tour started at the Lotte New York Hotel which was Serena’s and Lily’s home during the first seasons.

From there we drove to the Upper East Side where most of the GG sights are located.

We saw theSt. James‘ Episcopal Church where Blair and Prinz Loui got married, the Vera Wang store where Blair was looking for a wedding dress and the Harry Winston store where Chuck got the ring for Blair for example.

Another highlight of the tour was the stop at the Empire Hotel.

The hotel, which was the home of Chuck Bass, was also the filming location for the show for inside as well as the outside scenes. During the stop we got the chance to take photos and to have a look at the lobby which was also seen in several episodes.

Moreover we stopped at the legendary MET steps where Serena, Blair and their ‚friends‘ used to spend all their school breaks. The steps play an important part in the show. They are a symbol of hierarchy between the girls. The leaders like Blair were sitting on the

higher steps while all the other girls had to sit on the stairs below.

Furthermore we went to Dylan’s Candy Bar which is also a location that is seen in GG. The huge candy paradise is owned by Dylan Lauren who is Ralph Lauren’s daughter by the way. During the stop we had the chance to buy some candy, eat some ice cream or have some macrons. We even got a tour discount. I think I have never seen a big candy shop like that before.

In addition we got to see the Marymount school for girls which was Cecily von Ziegesar’s inspiration for the Constance Billard School for girls when she wrote the book.

In real life the girls from the Marymount school are spending their breaks on the MET steps.

At the end of the tour we stopped at the Henri Bendel shop where we had the chance to do some shopping.

The shop was seen several times during the show for example when Jenny Humphrey was looking for a new dress. Moreover Bendel designed all the hairbands that were seen in the show.

The tour guides know every detail about the show. You learn a lot of things from them that you didn’t know before.

Did you know that Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen) and Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey) were also dating in real life?! They were splitting during the filming of the second season. In front of the cameras they still had to play the happy couple for five more seasons.

They didn’t even tell the film crew about their breakup because they didn’t want their personal drama to influence the series.

If you are currently in New York or if you are planning a trip to NYC soon you should definitely think about taking part of the tour.

It’s super exciting to see all your favorite scenes and the locations where they were filmed. You get the chance to experience Manhattan through the eyes of Serena and Blair. It almost feels like spending a day in a GG episode.

XOXO Julia ❤

The Archibald town house

Deutsche Version:

„Good morning Upper East Side.

Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. And who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell. You know you love me. Xoxo, GossipGirl“

Hey, happy to meet you here. My name is Julia. I am from Hannover, Germany. After graduating from high school I moved to Berlin, where I studied BA Fashion Design. Berlin has been my home for over three years. Even though the new start in Berlin wasn't easy, I fell in love with Berlin, the people and the positive vibes of this international and creative city. After my graduation, I moved to London, where I am currently studying MA Strategic Fashion Marketing at UAL. With London it was love at first sight. This city is so vibrant, welcoming and full of energy. Every corner in London has a little surprise for those that are observing.
Besides studying, I love working on new designs, travelling, exploring London and writing on my blog. I have a passion for photography and art which makes London the perfect city to live in.